Tensions between Hezbollah and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) resurfaced after peacekeeping troops were confronted by locals in the South.
A peacekeeper was hurt when a group of young men attacked a patrol and tried to stop it from moving through their village, UNIFIL said in a statement on Thursday.
The incident took place on Wednesday night when residents of the village of Taybeh briefly blocked the peacekeepers' patrol travelling through the area, it added.
The man wounded was an Indonesian soldier, a security source said. A vehicle was damaged, UNIFIL said. It called on Lebanese authorities to investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.
In a second incident on Thursday morning, a peacekeepers' convoy travelling to UNIFIL's eastern headquarters was briefly blocked by residents, who let them go ahead after a brief discussion, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said.
A Lebanese security source said a group of men had hit the UNIFIL vehicles with sticks and rocks.
The reason for the actions was not clear but in previous incidents, local people have objected to UNIFIL peacekeepers driving military vehicles through residential areas.
There was no comment from Hezbollah.
The Iran-backed party avoids sending its members to such confrontations, but rather dispatches locals to intercept UNIFIL patrols, claiming they were operating “suspiciously”.
Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that UNIFIL’s recent activity has raised its own suspicions among Hezbollah.
They speculated that the activity may be an attempt to push for the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701.
The persistence of such an approach will have “several repercussions” and lead to a “dangerous situation”, they warned.
Meanwhile, Grand Jaafari Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan, who is close to Hezbollah, demanded in a statement that UNIFIL act as a “just force” and that it only serve Lebanon’s national interests.
He stressed that UNIFIL will always be welcome when it works for Lebanon sovereignty. “Any violation of its duties against our national interests is forbidden and an act of suicide,” he warned.
He added that any “adventure under any pretext will be confronted by our people who are teaching the world the meaning of freedom, sovereignty and independence.”
Dr. Sami Nader, Director of Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hezbollah is trying to portray the current tensions as being between UNIFIL and residents of the South.
In fact, the tensions are really between the party and the peacekeepers, he stressed.
He explained that UNIFIL effectively represents international decisions, especially resolution 1701, which is really at the heart of the unrest in the South.
The real implementation of the resolution would effectively close the open front between Lebanon and Israel, he remarked.
At the moment, diplomatic pressure is being exerted for all parties to respect the resolution. The failure of diplomacy would force the concerned parties to resort to a military solution, he warned.
Iran, however, will not agree to closing the southern front without extracting a certain price, given that it will be present at any discussions aimed at reaching a settlement, Nader stated.
The implementation of resolution 1701 would ultimately cost Iran this diplomatic card in its possession, he went on to say.
Meanwhile, the Renewal (Tajadod) Bloc stressed that now was the time to prevent Lebanon from being dragged into a conflict with Israel.
However, instead of efforts being exerted to restore calm in the South, “we are witnessing repeated attacks against the peacekeepers.”
It blamed Hezbollah for the attacks, saying it wants to deliver a message to the international community that the implementation of resolution 1701 will be met with chaos and violence.
